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2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. E. SOHIBPNBR. MACHINE FOR PREPARING RAMIE, m.

Patented Apr. 6

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. E. SGHIEFNER.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING RAMIE, &0.-

No. 339,329, Patented Apr. 6, 1886.

FIG. 3.

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MACHINE FOR PREPARlNG RAMIE, &c.

ZPECIEKCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,329, dated April 6, 1886.

Application filed September 24, 1885. Serial No. 178,059. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'Tnfiononn EUGENE SCHIEFNER,Of Essonnes, Department of Seineet-Oise, in the Republic of France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Preparing Rhea or Ramie or other Long-Fibered Substances, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is directed to machinery de- 1 signed to prepare the fibers of rhea or ramie, nettles, pita, yucca, pine-apple, jute,ananassa, flax, hemp, and other long-fibered materials previous to theirbeing combed and spun into yarn or thread.

1 Hitherto, so far as I am informed, the work performed by machinery used to prepare ramie and like material for combing and spining has been in many respects imperfect and unsatisfactory, because the fibers were imper- 2o i'ectly drawn, and were largely undivided, felted, matted together, and knotted, and for this reason were not in fit condition to under go the subsequent operations requisite fort-he production of yarn or thread.

It is the object of my invention to obviate these objections, and to obtain a machine by which the material may be drawn, divided, and almost combed without loss, felting, or matting, and may be brought to the condition of a homogeneous sliver composed of parallel fibers.

In the machine in which my improvements are embodied the fiber is first operated on by two pairs of fluted or grooved rolls, by which the material is rendered supple, is flattened and opened, and at the same time is lengthened by a drawing operation. From these rolls it is taken by and between two continuously moving carding-belts, moving more 0 rapidly than the rolls first named,which serve to draw and lengthen the material, and at the same time to comb it and to deliver it to the mechanism beyond. From these cardingbelts it is taken by fluted drawing-rolls,which still further draw and lengthen it. It is thence taken by and between a second pair of card ing-belts, which draw, elongate, and comb it, and deliver it to still other drawing-rolls, whence it passes to be condensed in the form of a sliver, which is delivered into a suitable receptacle or can.

In practice, in order to thoroughly prepare the material, I subject it to three successive series of operations, such as above recited, using for this purpose three successive machines, which, while identical in general organization, have their working parts made successively finer. In this way the material can he brought to acondition in which it will be th oroughly prepared for the subsequent comb- 5 ing and spinning operations.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand and use my improvements, I will now proceed to point out the manner in which the same are or maybe carried into effect, by ref- 6 erence to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention, the driving-gearing being indicated by broken lines. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical central section of the machine, showing the devices which operate on the fibers. Figs. 3 and 4 are elevations of opposite sides of the frame of the machine, representing diagrammatically the arrange ment of the gearing by which. the several moving parts or" the machine are actuated. Fig. 5 is a plan of the machine.

The parts of the machine which operate on the fiber are as follows, succeeding one another in the order in which they are named: Two pairs of fluted breaking, feeding, and drawing rolls, (2 d and d (2 a pair of carding-belts, c c, mounted on two pairs of drums or rolls, 9 g, a pair of fluted conducting and drawing 8 rolls, h h, a second pair of carding-belts, z i, mounted on two pairs of drums or rolls, 7 j, the final pair of fluted drawing-rolls, 7c 6, and the smooth-surfaced finishing and delivery or discharging rolls in m, to which the fibers are conducted from rolls 7: it over acarrier-roll, l, and through a condenser guide or trumpet, a,

and from which said fibers passin the form of a sliver into the can 17. The belts are armed with card points or teeth f, which point in 5 the directions indicated in Fig. 3, and said belts are so actuated that the contiguous faces of each will movcin the same direction-that is to say, toward the delivery or discharge end of the machine. The rolls are all mounted in I00 suitable hearings in the frame a a of the machine, aud in such manner that the two rolls of each pair can be'adjusted to and from one another. It is preferred that the bearings of the upper rolls, d, d, g, h,j, and 7c, should be spring-pressed, as indicated in Fig. 1, so that they may automatically yield to varia' tions in thickness of the material under treat ment. The rolls (1" d have a somewhat greater speed of rotation than the rolls d d, belts e e move faster than the rolls d d", rolls h h have a greater speed than the belts ee, belts 1 1" move faster than rolls h h, and the final drawing-rolls k it have greater speed than the belts 'i 1'. Each set of instrumentalities thus moves at a greater speed than the one which imme- U diately precedes it, and consequently a drawing action takes place between each successive two of the sets.

The gearing by which the parts are thus actuated to move will now be described, it being understood that while the arrangement and proportions about to be stated are well adapted to effectuate the requisite movements of the various parts I do not restrict myself to the same. The driving-sh aft is represented at a provided with the usual fast and loose pulley, b, and having a speed of, say, one hundred and twenty revolutions per minute. On said shaft is a driving pinion, b, of forty teeth, from which motion is transmitted to the various parts of the machine. The lower roll, d, of thefirstpair of rolls, d d, derivesits movement from pinion b through the intermediate wheels, t, of one hundred and twenty teeth, t, of forty teeth, u, of one hundred and sixty teeth, and u, of forty teeth, which last-named wheel engages the wheel 1) of one hundred and sixty teeth on the roll (1. The lower roll, d", of the second pair of rolls, d d, is driven from roll d by a gear, so, ofsixty teeth, on said roll d, which, through an intermediate, 00, of eighty teeth, engages and drives the wheel as, of fifty teeth, on roll 01 The upper belt, 6, is driven through the agency of the first of the two rolls, 9. This roll 9 (see Fig. 4) is driven from roll d by a wheel, 00 of one hundred teeth, on said roll d, which engages a wheel, of, of seventy-five teeth, on roll 9. The lower belt, 6, is driven at a like speed by the first of its two rolls, which is provided with a seventy-five-toothed wheel, or, to engage the corresponding wheel, The lower roll, h, of the pair of conducting and drawing rolls h h, is driven from pinion I) through the intermediary of wheels 0, of one hundred and twenty teeth, 0, offifty teeth, 8, of one hundred and thirty-three teeth, .9, of fifty teeth, and h of seventy-five teeth, the last-named wheel being on roll h. The lower roll, 70, of the final pair of drawing-rolls, k It, takes its movement "from pinion I), through the intermediary of the wheels 0, of one hundred and twenty teeth, 0 of fifty teeth, g, of eighty teeth, and 1', of eighty teeth, the lastnamed wheel being on roll It. The upper belt, i, of the second pair of belts, ii, is moved by the second of its two rolls, j, said roll being .driven from roll In by a sixty-toothed wheel, 3 on roll k, which gears with a seventy-fivetoothed wheel, on roll j. Said wheel y" gears with a corresponding wheel, 1, on the rollj below, and in this way the lower belt, a), is driven. The upper roll, k, imparts motion to the carrier-roll Z by means of a fifty-toothed wheel, 7 ,Vl1lOh gears with a corresponding wheel, 2 on roll Z, and from wheel 3 motion is transmitted to the gears 3 y on the finishing and delivery or discharging rolls m m. From this description of the actuating gearing the movements of the operative parts of the machine relatively to one another can be readily ascertained and determined.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The ramie or other fiber, after bleaching, is placed on the feed-table c, where it is separated and spread in sheet form as evenly as possible. It first passes through and is acted on by the two pairs of rolls d d and d d The first pair tend to render it supple and pliable, and flatten and open it. The second pair have measurably the same action, and moving as they do somewhat faster than the first pair, draw and lengthen it, and pass it on to the faster-moving carding belts e e, which take it from said rolls d (P, and in so doing lengthen and draw it and straighten and comb the fibers. The material carried forward by the cardingbelts is delivered to the faster-moving conducting and drawing rolls h h, which draw it and lead it to a position where it is taken by the second pair of belts, 7? i, which act upon it in the same manner as the first pair of belts and deliver it to the more rapidly-moving final drawing-rolls, 7c lc, which also lengthen and draw it. From these rolls it passes over the carrier-roll l and through the trumpet or condeusern, by which it is brought to the form of a sliver, and thence passes through the smooth finishing rolls m m, which condense the sliver and deliver it to the can 1).

As before stated I in practice subject the material to three successive series of operations of the character just described. The result is that the material is well stretched or drawn, divided, separated, and, indeed, almost combed, being at the same time free from felting, matting, and knots, forming a homogeneous sliver whose fibers are smooth and parallel, and this without appreciable loss or waste. After the material is thus prepared it is entirely fitted for the subsequent combing and spinning operations, which preferably are effected by the use of combing and spinning machines of the character setforth in my applications for Letters Patent filed of even date herewith, and bearing serial numbers 178,057, and 178,058, respectively.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my improvements and the best way known to me of carrying the same into effect, what I claim as new, and of my own invention, is-

l. The combination of the two pairs offiuted or ribbed rolls d d and d (1 moving atdifferent speeds, as described, so as to exercise a 3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the two pairs of rolls d d and d d", the two pairs of carding-belts e e and i i, the conducting and drawing rolls h h, located between said pairs of belts, the final drawing rolls, k is, located beyond the second pair of belts, and actuating mechanism, whereby these parts are speeded relatively to one another, substantially as and for the purposes hereinhefore set forth.

THEODORE EUGENE SCHIEFNER.

Witnesses:

HENRY SANFORD BERGMAN, ALPHONSE BLETREY. 

